Rock, Steel, Iron
by djk1982
Summary: A crossover between Disney's Gargoyles and Big O. When a mysterious series of events begins to send citizens of Paradigm City to New York, what will be the results? And just what is the truth about the connection between the two worlds? Read and review
1. The Black Forest

Greetings, true believers! This is your loving author, speaking once again to all of you! Before I begin weaving this tale, I must state that all disclaimers apply; Gargoyles belongs to Disney, and Big O belongs to Sunrise. If they belonged to me, then you would have seen this crossover on TV a long time ago! Now that the legal stuff is over, I hope you all enjoy this story, and please give me plenty of reviews for my precious ego!

1

The Black Forest...

Elisa Maza yawned and brushed some of her dark hair back from her face. She had been getting less and less sleep lately. It was hard to keep normal hours, considering the type of company she was keeping. She had come to tolerate the bags under her eyes with a sort of resignation; it was worth it to see her friends. And besides, the night had come to hold a sort of spell over her that she embraced happily.  
She sighed as she stared out over the steering wheel of her car. Normally, she was thankful for a night of peace, but for some reason tonight was different. Frankly, she was bored to death, and she grimaced at her radio, almost wanting something to come crackling over the waves. But, nothing came, and it seemed she was doomed to this curse of nothing to do for the night. Maybe she should call it quits early and pay a visit to her friends?  
Just as this thought occurred to her, her radio crackled it. She chuckled, thinking someone had predicted what she was thinking. She picked up the receiver.  
"Maza, you there?" came the voice of Matt Bluestone over the speaker.  
"Yeah. What's up Matt?"  
"You're not far from Lexington Avenue, right?"  
"Yeah. What's it to you?"  
"Some woman in an apartment nearby reported hearing a scream. Probably just someone having a nightmare."  
"One can always hope."  
"Better check it out, just to be sure."  
"Sure Matt. I'm on it."  
As she drove, she looked up at the sky. The starlight night was beautiful. Frankly, tonight just seemed to peaceful for anything truly bad to happen. She smiled to herself. Once this was over, she would go see her friends. That would be a good way to top off a quiet night.  
She stopped below the high rise apartment building. She stepped out of her car and looked up at it. The clouds rolled by overhead. She narrowed her eyes. Had she seen something scrambling around on the roof? She blinked and looked again. Probably just shadows. She shrugged and took a walk around the building. Everything seemed quite peaceful.  
She got back into her car and picked up the receiver for her radio. She spoke into it with a sense of satisfaction. "There's nothing wrong out here Matt. Tell her that she should just close her windows from now on, keeps noise out."  
The moment the words left her lips, the silence of the night was pierced like a knife cleaving into flesh as the window of an apartment three flours up exploded outward in a blast of fire and smoke. Elisa ducked down onto the floor of her car, waiting till she was sure the blast had not been aimed at her. She got back up in her seat. Matt was screaming over the radio.  
"Elisa? Elisa! What the hell was that?"  
"Some sort of an explosion Matt. Get a firetruck down here right away, before it sets the whole building up!" She hopped out of her car. She headed for the entrance to the building, intending to help evacuate its occupants, when a noise rose above the roar of the fire: laughter. It was a high pitched, maniacal cackling. Elisa's head swung around, searching for the source of the sound. It seemed to be coming from the roof. She hurried around the side of the building, leapt onto the fire escape, and squirmed up its metal latter's.

High above the lights of the city, soaring through the sky, was an ancient warrior of unspeakable means. The purple wings spread out against the air, carrying their owner along on currents of wind. He smiled contently to himself as he scanned over the streets of the city. All seemed very peaceful tonight. Perhaps he'd get to see Elisa soon.  
His thoughts were interrupted by the roar of an explosion. He paused in mid-air, and scanned around till he saw the plume of smoke rising into the sky. He narrowed his eyes, grunted, and headed for the emergency.

Elisa Maza had seen much in the past few years that she had once considered impossible. Since her friends had come into her life, she had encountered a stream of robots, mutants, aliens, and fairies. She had come to expect the unexpected, and to be more fearless than she had ever thought possible. But she could not restrain her shock at the sight awaited her on the roof of the building.  
The man who stood on the opposite ledge was the most bizarre looking person she had ever seen. His clothes looked formal and professional, in spite of how dirty they were. A tattered trench-coat billowed in the wind, joined by bandages, which lead to his mummified head. The bandages wrapped around his whole skull, leading up to a cone shaped point over his cranium. A pair of buggy, bloodshot eyes glared out at her crazily, staring from above the hideous grin that also seemed to jump out from the forest of bandages. His hands were also covered in bandages, topping off his strange appearance. He did not seem to notice her at first, but rather his attention was focused on the police and fire department cars that were screeching to a halt in front of the building. Elisa approached him carefully.  
"Okay mister, just step down from there real slow..." she cautioned. She held up her badge for him to see, hoping that he would make this easy and just back down at the sight of her police credentials. But this was not to bed, and instead he seemed totally unimpressed. He burst into another round of horrible laughter, his eyes still watching the street's below.  
"Even in this world, the people are nothing but pathetic lap dogs, whimpering at their master's heels." His voice was gravelly, rough, but still sent a chill down Elisa's spine. She held her gun steady and tried again to get through to him.  
"Put your hands up where I can see them. Step down off that ledge..."  
"But still, I could manage to do a great deal of good here..." he said, totally ignoring Elisa. He scratched his bandage chin and grinned. "A city that hasn't yet lost its memories; it would be so much easier to find the truth here."  
"What are you talking about? Who are you?" she demanded, her confusion angering her. He now turned to face Elisa, focusing his insane eyes on her. He chuckled, seeming to be amused by the sight of her.  
"Oh, I am called many things. But you may call me Schwarzwald."  
"Huh?" Elisa struggled to identify the word, but it seemed to be some sort of foreign language. She thrust it aside and turned her attention back to the man standing before her. "Did you cause that explosion? And why are you dressed up in a Halloween costume?"  
"This world intrigues me," he said, ignoring her questions. "Not since Big Duo have I seen something so interesting."  
"What the hell are you talking about?" she demanded, stepping closer.  
"Its not easy you know, seeking out the truth. I sought it for years, and this is what became of me. Such a pity the same thing doesn't happen to the likes of you." He reached into his pocket, and Elisa dropped into a combat ready stance, prepared to open fire if she had to. She relaxed when he produced nothing more than a cigarette lighter. He held it up for her to see. "But then again, perhaps I can help you to see the world in the same light I have..."  
Elisa suddenly became aware of the smell of gasoline. Her eyes flicked around for the source, and finally settled at her own feet. She gasped when she saw the soaking bandages laying on the ground below her. Her eyes followed the long trail of white cloth up, up to the maniac's feet. His grin spread under his bandaged face, and he clicked the flint of the lighter, the small flame dancing up into the night air. Elisa tried to scream, but found she could not. She watched, horrified as he dropped the lighter...  
It happened in an instant. The flames poured down the gasoline soaked bandages toward Elisa, but in a split second, just before the ignited the cloth right below her feet, she found herself torn from the roof of the building, yanked into the air. She cried out at first, till she looked up in the familiar eyes of Goliath.  
"Thanks big guy" she said, giving a sigh of relief, "I was afraid I was going to end up a chicken McNugget for a minute."  
"Who is that man?" Goliath asked her as he circled overhead. As they watched, he leapt off of the roof of the burning building onto another, jumping from building to building, attempting to escape as Goliath gave chase.  
"He called himself Schwarzwald" Elisa said, struggling with the strange sounding word.  
"The black forest?" Goliath said, one of his large eyebrows cocking questioningly.  
"Huh?"  
"Never-mind" Goliath said, remembering Elisa had not read as extensively as he had.  
"He was babbling all these things about the truth, and a Big something or other. Its like he just dropped out of the sky."  
"He won't get far." Goliath commented. Elisa followed her companion's gaze, and smiled to herself at the sight of Angela and Broadway swooping down from the sky. They crashed down onto they're feet on another roof, just as Schwarzwald leapt onto it. He screeched to a halt, kicking up clouds of dirt. Broadway and Angela both eyed him skeptically.  
"Curioser and curioser..." Schwarzwald muttered as he slowly backed away from the two gargoyles. He spun around and attempted to leap back to the building he had just come from, but Goliath landed in front of him, cutting him off. Schwarswald's eyes flicked back and forth from gargoyle to gargoyle, desperately searching for a way out.  
"Who is this guy, Goliath?" Broadway asked, taking measured steps closer to the strange looking mummy-man.  
"Elisa said he calls himself..."  
"I am a seeker of knowledge!" Schwarzwald interrupted, swinging his hand into the air in a grand gesture. "I am the one who has had the courage to try to find memories from 40 years ago! And now that I have a world where memories still exist, I shall be loathe to surrender it!" He reached into his coat, withdrew his balled up first, and swung it toward Angela and Broadway. They both yelped and jumped back, at the same moment Goliath and Elisa took a leap forward. They all hesitated, staring at each other taking a moment to register that he had in fact thrown nothing at them. His laughter interrupted, and they all spun just in time to see him leap from the edge of the building. "So gullible!" his cry echoed as he tumbled down toward the alley below.  
They all hurried to leap down after him, but just as they reached the edge, the sound of a strange crackling arose to their ears. The darkness below was suddenly illuminated by cracks of electricity. Flashes burst in the air, reflecting the scrambling form of Schwarzwald in the alley below. A humming noise rose up, drowning out his panicked cries. The electricity grew into small lighting, and finally it all rose into a monumental burst of energy that threw all four of them onto their backs. They all blacked out for a moment...  
Elisa groaned as she sat up. She shook the cobwebs out of her head as Goliath, Broadway, and Angela all rose as well. They quickly jumped down into the alley, and were all stunned by the sight of the smoldering pavement, the melted trash cans, the smoldering walls. It looked as if there had been a small nova here in this tiny crack of New York. And worse, Schwarzwald was nowhere to be seen.  
"What was that, Elisa?" Angela asked, her level of concern obvious in her voice.  
"I don't know Angela" Elisa answered, "But I have a bad feeling about it..."

A world away...

Alex Rosewater smiled to himself and leaned back in his chair. The massive machine before him still smoked a little as it slowly cooled down. Behind him, the wire-thin form of Alan Gabriel stood like a statue, his never ending smile plastered across his grotesquely inhuman face.  
"Well, it seems that the test run was a perfect success, Alan" Rosewater said over his shoulder. "Feel prepared for a little journey?"  
"A sojourn through another world" Alan responded, his voice laced with soft chuckles, "Sounds like fun." His chuckles rose into a hideous laughter that echoed through the huge underground complex.


	2. The Intruder

2

Pale like death...

Night. The moonlight cast its pale glow over the whole city. It illuminated the courtyard of the Wyvern Castle, resting high atop the Xanatos Tower. If one were to stand in the center of that courtyard, an uninvited guest perhaps, then they would be immediately detected by any one of the dozens of motion detectors, security cameras, and other security apparatus all over the building. This would cause an almost instantaneous response that would leave such an intruder very unsatisfied.  
But yet the figure that stalked across the battlements of the castle seemed to be having no such problem. He leapt into the air, somersaulting over the security apparatus' line of detection, landing gracefully on his feet before the large doorway that led into the interior of the castle and office building. He chuckled, and held up one long finger. It stiffened out, becoming solid as a tree branch. He stuck the pointed end of this finger into the automated lock, and began to fidget around.  
David Xanatos smiled as he closed the door. His son was sleeping peacefully, tucked into his crib, clutching his favorite stuffed animal. It was a peaceful sight, and it warmed his heart to be a part of it.  
He walked down the hall, hands in his pockets, heading for the bedroom he shared with his lovely bride. He found Fox laying under the blankets, reading a book. She looked up from it when he entered and smiled.  
"Finally fell asleep, huh?"  
"Took me a while, but I managed to wear him out." David said, chuckling softly. He prepared for bed, changing into his pajamas. He was just about to slide into bed when the sound of blaring alarms ripped the peace of the evening to shreds.  
"What's that?" Fox shouted, leaping out of the bed.  
"Someone's trying to break into the office!" Xanatos shouted as he tore the door to their bedroom open. He charged down the hallways, Fox racing behind him. "Of all times for Owen to take the night off" Xatanos growled to himself when he stopped in front of the door to his personal office. He grimaced at the destroyed locks, and then pushed the door open just a crack, trying to get a view inside.  
Attempted break in's, corporate espionage, spies from rival companies, David Xanatos had dealt with all of these before. But the thief that was currently digging around in the safe at the far end of the office was unlike any he had ever seen before. He was inhumanly thin, his arms and legs measuring only a few inches around easily. His pinstripe suit covered most of his body, and the top of his head was hidden by a brimmed cap. Xatanos took a moment to calm himself, and then threw the door open.  
The thief turned, and Xatanos' astonishment only grew. His face was almost totally featureless, save for a mouth with lip so red it looked grotesque. From below where his nose should have been, his face was pale white, giving him an almost clown-like appearance. He grinned a foul, death's head grin when he sax Xanatos.  
"I don't know how you got in here, but I would advise you to step away from there, before I have you escorted out." David Xanatos knew he could be menacing, and he put on his best leer to try to scare his enemy.  
"You must be the legendary David Xanatos" the stranger giggled, "Killing you should be a true delight!" Xanatos charged, ready to use his extensive martial arts training. The intruder simply chuckled as he moved to meet him. "You're simply a pathetic human without even a megadeus to protect you. What could you possibly do to me?"  
Xanatos threw a series of well-aimed punches and kicks, but to his astonishment the intruder dodged each one with simply uncanny speed. But he took advantage of the last punch, grabbing Xanatos' wrist, yanking him into the air, and slamming him down onto his own desk. It collapsed under him, sending Xanatos crashing to the floor amidst a pile of broken wood.  
"Strong for a scrawny guy, aren't you?" Xanatos muttered between the pain.  
The intruder held one hand up. Xanatos watched in amazement as his fingers stiffened out into long spikes, and then his whole hand began to rotate at the wrist, turning into a large drill. He began to lower this strange weapon down toward Xanatos when Fox leapt into action, grabbing his drill-hand by the wrist and attempting to throw him across the room with it.  
But, instead, he threw her. As he hauled her overhead, she took a slash across her thigh from the drill. She shrieked as she tumbled through the air, bashing against the wall and sliding down onto her back.  
The intruder looked down at Xanatos, strill struggling to get back to his feet. He reached into his pocket and withdrew what he had taken from the safe; a single computer disk.  
"Thank you for these marvelous memories! I'm sure they will come in handy." He spun and charged out of the room, beating a hasty retreat.  
As he came to the doorway that would lead him back out into the courtyard, he was met with something he hadn't expected. A large form lumbered into the doorway, and they collided head on. He quickly regained his footing with expert balance, and paused to examine whoever was blocking his way.  
"Who're you?" Broadway asked. The intruder's jaw dropped, and he took a reflexive step back.  
"What in the name of..."  
"Stop that man!" Xanatos hollered as he came running down the hall.  
Broadway did not need anymore than that. He leapt for the intruder, intending to tackle him and pin him down to the ground with his far greater bulk. But instead the intruder pulled a perfectly acrobatic display, leaping over Broadway's head and landing behind him.  
"And what are you?" the intruder said as he reached into his suit. He withdrew a long, golden pistol. He pointed it at the three with a grin, his finger tightening on the trigger. A pair of powerful arms coiled around him from behind and hauled him off his feet.  
"Who's this weirdo?" Brooklyn said as he tried to keep a hold of the intruder. But then, in an even more shocking move, the intruder's legs seemed to almost reverse their position on his waist. They snapped around Brooklyn, and the intruder launched himself backward, as if doing a hand spring. He hurdled Brooklyn away with his legs and then straightened back up.  
"There was nothing in the memories about this!" he said, his shock registering in his previously maniacal voice.  
"He's certainly unlike anyone I've ever seen" Lexington said as he floated down alongside his brothers. The intruder recovered from his surprise quickly and smiled that same evil smile.  
"I would so love to stay and disembowel you all, but I am afraid I simply cannot miss my travel plans!" he held his metal hand up, and the tip of his index finger shot off from the rest of his hand, a long chord trailing behind it. It latched into the castle battlements, and yanked him up. He landed once again on his feet.  
"You're going nowhere lad!" came a new voice. The intruder spun just in time to dodge the swing of Hudson's sword. He ducked and dodged several more blows before slamming his foot into Hudson's abdomen, throwing him back. He grimaced at the sight of the other three young gargoyles charging up the stairs. He made his escape by leaping over the side of the building.  
"That fool!" Hudson shouted as he watched the intruder tumble through the air. But their immediate concerns were put to rest when once again he fired his chord. It wrapped around a flagpole sticking out from the side of the building, and he lowered himself gently to the ground.  
No sooner had his feet touched down when the screech of tires and the glare of headlights overcame him.  
"Hold it right there!" Elisa shouted from over her gun as she climbed out of her car. Matt Bluestone climbed out from the other door. They both approached him carefully.  
"If those things up there couldn't stop me, you two certainly can't either." The stranger giggled. He held up his own gun, pointing it directly at the two. But then he turned it aside and fired off several shots into the people on the streets before he took off running away. Elisa and Matt both hesitated, taken totally by surprise.  
"Matt, take care of the wounded people, I'll go after him!" Elisa shouted. Her partner nodded in agreement.  
She chased the attacker for several blocks when finally he disappeared into an alley. She rounded the bend, and found him standing in the center of the alley, waiting for something. She leveled her weapon at him once again. "Okay buddy, just stay right where you are..."  
"I would so love to oblige, but I am afraid I must be going." He cackled over his shoulder. The wind suddenly picked up, blowing pieces of trash and debris across the ground. The air seemed to grow thick, and static crackled along Elisa's clothes. She yelped when a spark leapt from her gun to her hand. Her eyes flicked around, trying to find the source of whatever was happening. But now small surges of electricity began to crackle in the air. And then, before Elisa's stunned eyes, a hole seemed to open in the very air itself, rippling with energy. The stranger started to step toward it.  
"Hold it!" Elisa shouted. She tackled into him, the both of them landing inside the tunnel behind the hole.  
"Get off! Get off me you little fool!" they struggled against each other. But before anything more could happen, the hole closed, leaving everything as it had been.


	3. City Without Memories

3

City Without Memories

Elisa groaned and rolled onto her side. She opened her eyes, slowly blinking away the spots that danced before her vision. She got to her feet, her body feeling as if she had been asleep for a month. She stretched, working out the stiffness.  
She looked around, and found herself in a familiar setting; a city. The buildings towered above her, the sewers flowed below her. But something most definitely did not feel right. Many of the buildings were decaying, crumbling. And for that matter, there did not seem to be anyone on these streets. Was this a ghost town? She struggled to remember everything that had happened...  
"Lady, are you nuts? Get out of here!" a gruff voice shouted. Someone grabbed Elisa's wrist and tugged roughly as he proceeded to run down the street with Elisa in tow.  
"What's going on?" Elisa demanded when they came to a stop. She took a moment to examine the man before her. He was a tough looking fellow, with narrow eyes and a scrufty beard. A small scar bulged from the side of his head. She felt a bit relieved when she recognized the uniform of a police officer, but it was certainly unlike any uniform she had ever seen. She leaned closer and looked at the badge on his chest. "Paradigm Military Police..." she read. Before she could ask just what that meant, a massive chunk of concrete slammed into the pavement only a few feet away.  
"Dammit!" the officer growled. He grabbed Elisa's arm once again and dragged her even further away. Elisa yanked herself free.  
"What's going on?" she demanded.  
"That's what's going on" he replied, pointing upward behind her. Elisa turned and looked up...and then up, and up, and up some more. She had seen he Steel Clan, she had helped her friends battle The Pack, and she had seen the machinations of The Quarrymen, but she had never seen anything quite like the mechanical monstrosity that towered taller than even the buildings themselves. It was like something from a Godzilla movie! It was huge, monstrous. The people were like insects beneath its massive feet. He turned to look over the skyline of the city, and gigantic laser beams blasted from its eyes, tearing into the buildings, sending plumes of smoke and dust into the air. Elisa gasped and nearly fell over.  
"Where do these things keep coming from?" the officer snarled with frustration. Before either of them could say anything else, the ground began to rumble. Then it began to shake. And then it seemed as if an earthquake was coming. The officer groaned. "Here it comes again...megadeus."  
"What?" Elisa said, but rather than answer he shoved her up to a lamppost.  
"Hold on tight." he instructed, wrapping his arms around the steel pole. Elisa followed suite, waiting to see what happened.  
The ground imploded. It collapsed down, revealing the massive labyrinth that lurked below. And from this gigantic hole, a head emerged. This was followed by a pair of shoulders, and a torso, and unspeakable legs. It was huge, just as large as the monster that was attacking the city. Elisa gaped at it, unable to believe all that was happening.  
"Wha-what is that?" Elisa stammered, pointing.  
"No one knows who pilots it" the officer replied "It just shows up whenever there's trouble."  
The black giant thromped forward to face he steel monster that was causing the chaos. It slammed one gigantic fist into the monster, the blow resonating like the strike of a gong. Glass shattered from the impact, and Elisa and the officer ducked to avoid getting cut. The officer shook a fist up at the steel giants. "Hey, watch it!" he shouted, as if they could actually hear him. The two titans battled it out, their struggle wreaking havoc on the surrounding city. Elisa watched in a stunned awe.  
"Colonel Dastun!" another police officer shouted as he ran up to them. "We've got a whole division set up on the next street over. All we need is the word from command."  
"Hold on" Dastun said. He started to follow the officer, but then hesitated. He turned back and looked at Elisa. "You, stay here! Don't move!" He turned and ran down the street and disappeared around the corner.  
Elisa stayed frozen to the spot, not sure of what she would do even if she knew where to go. She watched the battle unfolding, her senses overwhelmed. She started to grow nervous though. It seemed like the two giants were getting a little bit too closer to where she was standing. She bit her lip, not sure if she wanted to follow that man's instructions, or run for her life.  
Finally she decided she had to run. The fighting monsters were getting too close to her, she could not risk staying. She turned to start moving, but was struck in the head by a piece of falling rubble. She fell to the ground and blacked out.

"Gone? What do you mean gone?" Goliath growled at Matt Bluestone. The young detective held his hands up in a gesture of peace.  
"I'm sorry Goliath, we're doing all we can. But it really seems like Elisa just vanished. The last time I saw her, she was chasing after that weirdo who jumped off the building."  
"He WAS weird" Brooklyn said, supporting Bluestone. "He looked like he was made of twigs. And he had this crazy grin."  
"Yeah, like a clown or something." Broadway added.  
"What was it he took?" Bluestone asked.  
"He stole a disk from me personal data" Xanatos answered Bluestone as he strode out onto the battlement. "It contained information about the satellites my company has sent into orbit, and some information on an idea some of my people submitted to me."  
"He said something about memories" Lexington said as he glided down to join them.  
"And that isn't all, Goliath" Xanatos added. All turned to look at him. "The security apparatus of the castle is linked up to one of the satellites orbiting the planet. If anyone breaks in, it will track them. It picked up something unusual. He motioned for them to follow him to his office. When they were all inside, he sat down behind his desk. He pressed a button on a small panel on the desk, and a small section of the wall slid away to reveal a television monitor. It blinked on, and revealed a satellite shot video of Elisa chasing the strange intruder. They both ducked into an alley and struggled for a moment. There was a bright flash of light, and they were both gone.  
"What in the name of..." Bluestone muttered.  
"What happened?" Goliath snarled. He slammed his fists against the wall in frustration. The other gargoyles could only watch, their concern for they're friend and leader registering in they're eyes.  
"I'm not sure," Xanatos muttered. "But the satellite also picked up a tremendous surge of power in the area where they disappeared. It seems there is more to this situation than meets the eye."  
"Elisa..." Goliath whimpered. Brooklyn put a hand on Goliath's shoulder, a gesture of comfort. Goliath took a deep breath and straightened. He turned to face Xanatos, his eyes serious once again. "What can we do?"

Elisa sighed softly. The cool compress pressed against her forehead brought her back to her senses. She slowly opened her eyes. She tried to sit up, but a pale hand pressed against her shoulder, pushing her back down onto the soft cushions.  
"Do not try to move" a monotone voice told her, "You were injured during the battle between the megadeus'. You need rest." Elisa rolled her head to the side to examine her caretaker. The girl kneeling alongside the couch was pale as chalk, her skin looking as if it had never seen the light of day. She had dull red hair that reached to her neck. Her eyes were the most emotionless Elisa had ever seen. Her face was set in a frozen expression.  
"Who are you? Where am I?" Elisa asked.  
"My name is Dorothy" the woman responded. She removed the compress from Elisa's forehead, placed into a small dish of water, and then patted Elisa's injured head with it. "You are in the home of Roger Smith."  
"Who?"  
"I'm Roger Smith" a man's voice said. Elisa looked across the room, and found a man standing in a doorway. He stepped forward, coming more into the light so Elisa could get a better look at him. "I have a rule about people coming into my house" he said, smiling smartly, "Only lovely young women are allowed to enter without my permission. You certainly fit the bill."  
Elisa looked him over. Roger Smith was handsome, in a gentlemanly sort of way. He was tall, taller than her partner Matt and David Xanatos. He was broad shouldered, but yet he had a sort of elegance about him. His dark hair was swept back. His eyes had a deep, thoughtful look. His mouth seemed to be stuck in that small, self-satisfied smirk.  
"Who's Mr. Smooth?" Elisa asked Dorothy.  
"He is..."  
"I'm Paradigm City's top Negotiator" Roger interrupted. "And this" he gestured at the room around them, "is my home."  
"Huh? What's a Paradigm?" Elisa asked. Roger cocked an eyebrow at her.  
"She was injured during Big O's fight with the foreign megadeus, Roger." Dorothy said as she stood up. "I brought her here to tend to her wounds."  
"That's good Dorothy." Roger said with a nod. "She probably need's some nourishment after her ordeal. Would you mind bringing her some food?" Dorothy nodded, and left the room. Roger sat down opposite Elisa and looked at her curiosly. "Just what did you mean by that question, Miss...?"  
"Maza...Elisa Maza" Elisa said. She sat up and looked Roger in the eyes. "I'm not sure what I meant...just where is Paradigm City?"  
"Well...it's here" Roger said, obviously confused. "THIS is Paradigm City. It's a city without memories. It seems you've lost a few of your own."  
"I haven't lost anything!" Elisa said, her frustration clear in her voice. She started to stand up, but grew dizzy and sat back down. Roger was instantly at her side, helping her back down onto the couch.  
"You should take it easy, Elisa Maza" he said. "It looks like you took a pretty nasty hit on the head." He took the compress and started to resume Dorothy's work of tending to Elisa's injury. "Now, let's try this again. If you don't know about Paradigm City, then where are you from?"  
"New York" Elisa said. Now it was Roger's turn to be confused.  
"From where?"  
"New York, you know, New York City, the Big Apple, the city that never sleeps?" Roger's face grew only more skeptical as she spat out this list of nicknames for her hometown. "You've never heard of New York?" she finally said, disbelieving.  
"Not that I can remember" Roger said. "Is it some sort of foreign city?" He seemed to grow a bit excited when he said this.  
"Its in America" Elisa said. Again, Roger looked confused. "Okay..." Elisa sighed. "Maybe we should just start from the beginning..."


	4. The Mission

4

Another stranger

"Woa...you're not kidding..." Roger sounded awed. He looked again at Elisa's badge, absorbing every detail of the gold colored piece of metal that reflected his face. He looked up at Elisa, who was now up and about, her injury feeling better. "You really are from another world!"  
"Seems that way" Elisa said as she looked out the window over the city. It resembled New York, her city, in many ways. But now that she looked harder, the differences were definite.  
"I'd like to help you, Elisa" Roger said, coming up behind her and handing her badge back to her. "But I honestly have no idea where to start. I mean, this is all rather confusing."  
"No kidding" Elisa said. She turned to face Roger. He scratched his chin, trying to think of ways to help.  
"Master Roger" an older voice said from the door. They both turned. Elisa found herself looking an older man, his head balding and his moustache gray. He returned her gaze with his single eye, the other evidently missing as it was covered by a patch. "Dinner is served, and I set an extra place for our guest."  
"Thank you Norman." Roger gave the old man a friendly smile and then turned to Elisa. "Well, Detective Maza, would you care to join us for dinner?"

Dominique Destine stormed through the upper floor of Nightstone Incorporated with a determination her employees had come to know and respect. She marched through the halls to her office, her face as usual set in a look of stony determination. Many of her employees had wondered if she ever smiled. Today was no exception.  
She stopped at her secretary's desk as she always did. She opened her mouth to inquire if she had any mail or messages, but hesitated when she realized something; Candice, her secretary was not sitting behind that desk. In her place was a woman that she had never seen before. She took a moment to examine her; she had never seen anyone quite so pink. The woman wore a form-fitting dress-suit, all pink. Her blonde hair was done up in a bun behind her head, held with a pink clip. She wore a pair of thin glasses with pink frames, and around her neck a string of pink beads dangled. She smiled at Dominique with her pink stained lips and stood up, revealing her low-cut skirt and shapely legs, which lead down to pink high-heeled shoes.  
"Who are you? Where is Candice?" Dominique demanded, giving the hand this woman offered her a skeptical glare.  
"Candice is out sick today, Ms. Destine" the woman said. Her voice was smooth and creamy. "The temp agency assigned me to stand in for her until she is feeling better. My name is Casey Jenkins." Dominique gave the offered hand a sniff, and nodded.  
"Very well. Are there any messages?"  
"No, Ms. Destine, and I left your mail on your desk." Angelina offered her a friendly smile, and Dominique cocked a curios eyebrow before moving on into her office. She sat down behind her desk and began sorting through the morning mail. She tossed the junk into the paper shredder, set the important notices to the side. When she reached the final envelope, she froze, confusion setting in.  
"Paradigm Corporation..." she read aloud off the envelope. She considered it a moment, and then shrugged. "Never heard of it." She dropped it into the paper shredder and did not give it another thought.

"Um, Roger..." Elisa asked, nudging him slightly with her elbow. Roger looked up from his food at her, and Elisa jerked her head down the table toward Dorothy, who sat with just a cup of tea, which she did not even sip at. Her emotionless eyes were locked on the two, unblinking. "Is...is she all right?" Elisa asked, trying not to let Dorothy know they were talking about her.  
"As fine as she can be, for an android." Roger said casually, shrugging his shoulders. Elisa nearly choked.  
"An android?"  
"Yes Ms. Maza, I am an android." Dorothy said, breaking into the conversation. Elisa looked at her, a new sort of awe for this world having dawned in her. "I am an android, as Roger is so fond of reminding me." Dorothy seemed a little bitter at the last part, and for a brief moment Elisa could have sworn she threw Roger a dirty look.  
"You'll have to forgive Dorothy" Roger said, seemingly unfazed by the attitude of Dorothy's statement. "She suffers from some personality flaws."  
"Personality? An android has personality?" Elisa said, her feelings of wonder and confusion growing with each second. Dorothy did not seem to take this well at all, as she slapped her hands onto the table, stood, and left the room. There was an uncomfortable silence till Roger cleared his throat.  
"This man you were chasing, Elisa" he said, digging the subject back up, "What did he look like?"  
"Well...he was certainly strange" she said, straining her memory for every last detail, "He was thin, I mean, really thin, like he was from some third world county. And he was wearing this pin stripe suit, and he had the strangest face. He was wearing..."  
"A mask?" Roger interrupted.  
"Yeah, how did you know?"  
"Sounds like Alan Gabriel." Roger's eyes narrowed.  
"Who?" Rather than answer her question, Roger stood up from the table, yanking his napkin away from his neck. He looked down at Elisa, his eyes were now cold and determined.  
"Nothing for tonight, Elisa. You'd better get some rest. Tomorrow we'll pay a visit to Paradigm's Chief Executive Officer."

"He was what?"  
"I know it sounds impossible" Owen explained, his composure never faltering; his employer was often amazed at his ability to remain so stoic, especially consider the tricksterous Fae that resided within him. "But the intruder was from another world, I am sure of it."  
"How can you be certain?" Goliath said, taking a reflexive step forward. The other's all gave nervous glances at their leader, afraid of what he might do under the pressure of this new development.  
"If you remember, I am one of the Third Race" Owen explained coolly, "I detected a strange energy in the air in the alley where he vanished. I am not sure if science or sorcery summoned it, but I am sure it was some sort of a doorway into another dimension."  
"But...how..." Goliath's words died in his throat. He lowered his head, his eyes shut tight as he struggled to hold back the tears, the fear that he may never see the woman he loved so dearly again.  
"I understand your worries, Goliath" Owen went on. "But there is a chance we may be able to locate Detective Maza. It is not within the scope of my powers to allow us to traverse the multiverse, but I find it highly likely that this stranger did not act alone. There was more science about him than sorcery. There is bound to be someone behind him. And whoever that is won't likely use this doorway only once. If this intruder brought his master something he liked, he is certain to be sent back for more."  
"And we'll be waiting for him." Brooklyn said, holding up one first to emphasize his words. Goliath gulped and nodded his head.  
"And in the meantime, I will use every resource I have available to try to help, Goliath" Xanatos said. He moved away from the wall he had been leaning against and placed a comforting hand on the gargoyle's shoulder. "We shall find Elisa again, do not worry."  
Goliath took a deep breath, and then turned to his clan.  
"Come, the city will not defend itself" he said, "We must be about our patrols." They all smiled and followed him.

"And just who are you?" John Castaway asked. He looked this stranger over from head to foot. He was a strange looking fellow; his mustard colored suit was of the most horrible taste he had ever seen, but it seemed to match well with the stranger's eyes, which bore the gleam of a cobra circling its pray.  
"Oh, I'm just a tourist" the stranger said with a sort of giggle to his voice.  
"A tourist?" Castaway cocked an eyebrow.  
"Yeah, from out of town." He laughed a bit at this, drawing a curios stare from Castaway and his henchman. He stifled his laughing and then ran a comb through his swirly blonde hair. "Well, enough about me, lets talk about you, and what I can do for you."  
"And just what is that?" The stranger stepped forward and draped an arm over Castaway's shoulders. He held his other arm up, gesturing as if they were reading a billboard spelled out in lights.  
"You are going to love this." he said, grinning like a lunatic.  
"Who are you?" Castaway asked.  
"The name is Beck. Beck Gold."


	5. The Crisis Heats Up

5

The Plot Thickens

"So you think this Alex Rosewater would know what is going on?"  
"If anyone does, it would have to be him." Roger's eyes were narrowed with determination, the passion behind his words obvious. Elisa watched this city of amnesia move past her as they drove. "He's caused trouble before" Roger continued, "He had a group of foreigners retrieve the parts for a megadeus for him and then betrayed them. And just a couple of months ago there was a fiasco where people living outside the domes thought an angel was going to fall to earth; it turned out to be some sort of old machine from back before the event, and Rosewater knew it, but he didn't tell anyone. Hundreds of people almost died because of him."  
"The event..." Elisa said, that word catching her attention, "Doesn't anyone know what happened?"  
"No one, Elisa." Roger sighed. "The memories of this entire city were stolen on that day. The few people who have been able to remember become instant targets. In a world that's practically living in a coma, memories can be a very valuable and dangerous thing." Elisa thought on those words as they pulled up in front of the headquarters of the Paradigm Corporation.

There was someone in her house!  
Demona sniffed the air, and picked up the distinctive scent of perfume. She strained her ears, and was able to detect the sound of papers being rustled. She narrowed her eyes and made her way through the halls with the stealth the years had taught her. She frowned as the signs of the intruder grew more obvious. There were file cabinets with the drawers pulled open, papers scattered on the floor, pictures that had been tilted in the search for hidden vaults.  
She paused outside her home office now. The intruder was in there, she was certain of it. She could hear the noise of her files being ransacked. She heard the interloper's footfalls on the carpet. She heard the sound of vinyl rubbing against vinyl. She narrowed her eyes and slowly began to nudge the door open.  
The intruder was not exactly what she had been expecting. She found herself facing the back of a rather curvaceous woman wearing a form fitting vinyl uniform. Her blonde hair shimmered slightly with each of her movements. She was sorting through papers, a small flashlight held between her teeth so she could use both her hands. She occasionally made a slight hum or grunt as she looked over the documents. This intrusion of privacy only further roused Demona's anger. She gave a low snarl, her eyes beginning to take on their red glow.  
The woman spun around, immediately retrieving a gun from its holster at her hip. She pointed it into the darkness that surrounded the door. She smiled her pouty lips and spoke with her soft voice.  
"Okay, whoever's there, come out real slowly." Demona smirked at this bravado, and reached for the light-switch.  
The woman's jaw dropped and she dropped the papers in her hand. She took a compulsive step back, her eyes enlarging as she gazed with absolute shock and disbelief at the gargess who stood in the doorway. Demona growled when she recognized the face of this woman as her stand-in secretary. "Wha-what are you?" Candice stuttered as she groped for words through her surprise.  
"The last thing you will ever see, human." Demona snarled and launched forward. The pink-clad burglar unleased a volley of shots at the darting gargoyle. Demona dodged them easily, bounding off the walls, gliding slightly across the room, ducking behind furniture, slowly making her way up to the front of the room. The blonde-burglar saw this progress, and beat a hasty retreat by leaping through the window, arms up in front of her face. Demona was surprised by this, and darted to the window to see if she could catch the final seconds of the intruder splatting onto the pavement.  
Instead, she found her own jaw dropping as the woman tumbled through the air with acrobat grace, landing on the ground and rolling with perfect agility, and then leaping to her feet to run to the pink motorcycle that was parked right outside the gate. Demona grimaced and leapt into the air, her wings catching the wind and lifting her up.

"Mr. Rosewater is not available at this moment. If you would like to leave a message, I will be sure to relay it to him."  
"Get on the intercom and tell him that Roger Smith is here!" Roger growled, slamming his fist down onto the desktop. Elisa flinched. She looked around and saw uniformed security guards taking interest.  
"Roger, cool down..." she urged over his shoulder.  
"Please leave Mr. Smith, or I will have to have security eject you." The woman behind the desk held her hands up in the air as if attempting to ward off Roger's anger. Roger sneered, reached into his breast-pocket and then flicked his hand. The woman gasped and jumped back. Elisa could not help but smirk slightly when she saw one of Roger's business cards stuck under the woman's collar.  
"I take it you and this Rosewater guy have some issues?" she asked him when they sat back inside his car. Roger sighed and put his sunglasses on. He inserted his key in the ignition and the engines roared to life.  
"Paradigm Co. and I have a mutual history of aversion..." he explained as he drove. "Alex Rosewater practically rules this city. Everyone relies on him for their jobs, their food, their homes, their livelihoods. It's a tremendous power, one that he abuses at every opportunity. Its nearly cost thousands of people their lives, and he just sits there in his tower like some malevolent emperor."  
"Tell me about it." Elisa muttered as she gazed out the window, her thoughts wandering to battles of the past, when her own city had been living under the rule of its dark, sadistic king.

"Goliath, you there?" Lexington's voice rang over the earpiece. Goliath shook his head, freeing himself from the thoughts of Elisa, and spoke into his microphone.  
"Yes Lexington. What is it?"  
"We just intercepted a report of an alarm going off at Destine Manor. It could involve Demona." Goliath's eyes narrowed at this possibility.  
"I'm on my way, Lexington. Thank you for the information." As he made his way, his thoughts began to wander back to Elisa. His dreams the previous day had been haunted by her. She was now a whole world away, and his heart ached at not knowing whether she was safe, or even alive.  
The sound of a motorcycle roaring shook him from his daydream, and his eyes scanned the street's below for the source of the disturbance. The pink motorcycle shot past, below him, and rocketed down the street. Then the sound of a familiar gargess' battle cry rose to his ears. His jaw dropped when the green streak that was Demona shot past him, ignored him.  
"It's Demona, all right." Goliath growled into his headpiece.  
"I've already told Angela and Broadway. They're on they're way." But these words did not dawn on the ancient warrior; his attention was entirely on following his former lover. She continued hard after the woman on the motorcycle, not even noticing Goliath tailing after her. What could that woman have done to earn Demona's wrath, he wondered.  
The bike veered off into an alley. Its occupant cut the engine and stood up, pulling her helmet off and shaking out her long, blonde locks. She looked down at her wrist, checking her watch, and smirked.  
"Just a few more minutes..." she muttered to herself. But the sound of a thud behind her drew her out of her calm. She spun and took a reflexive step back when confronted by the green monster she had seen at the mansion.  
"End of the road, human." Demona snarled.  
"Not yet, Demona!" Goliath shouted in response as he landed behind her. Demona whirled and faced the towering gargoyle with a sneer of contempt. Angel's jaw dropped, and she nearly tripped backwards over her own bike as she tried to move away from the evil looking creatures. She righted herself just in time to see two more of them land behind her.  
"Mother, what are you doing?" Angela demanded. Demona's face tightened with painful emotion at the scornful voice of her daughter.  
"Angela..." she said, waving her hand dismissively, "This has nothing to do with you. This wretched human was..."  
But she was broken, mid-sentence, by the sound of a watch beeping. All eyes turned down to the pink woman's wrist. She looked down at her watch, her eyes growing large with horror.  
"Oh no..." she said, the words barely wheezing out from her fear-tightened throat.  
"What..." Goliath began to say, but the words died when he felt the atmosphere suddenly change. The air seemed to grow thinner. The wind picked up, blowing pieces of discarded newspaper all over. A spark of static jumped from Demona's tiara, and the female gargoyle yelped with surprise. Charges of electricity began to dance in the air.  
"Its just like what happened when Elisa..." Broadway started to say, but the sentence was left unfinished when the hole seemed to tear into reality, engulfing all of them...

Elisa was shaken from her thoughts by the beeping. Roger evidently had also been lost in thought, because he jumped slightly in his seat. He then reached down and flicked a switch on the dashboard. The face of the kindly old butler leapt onto a small screen. Elisa smiled. She had to admit, that was a neat gadget.  
"Yes Norman?" Roger said, his eyes never leaving the road.  
"Master Roger, it seems the megadeus you confronted yesterday has returned."  
"I'm on it Norman."  
"Shall I begin preparing supper, sir?"  
"Sure, Norman. This shouldn't take too long." Elisa was perturbed by how casually Roger spoke about what evidently was a potential crisis. The screen flicked off, and Roger pulled off into a side street. He turned to face Elisa and yanked his sunglasses off, his face serious. "Miss Maza, you are about to see a side of me only a few people have ever seen." Elisa waited, not sure what to say as Roger raised his wrist up to his face. He leveled his wristwatch beneath his mouth and spoke. "Big O, show time!"


	6. Guests

5

The Meeting of the Warriors

"Father? Father! Father, are you all right?"  
Goliath groaned and finally opened his eyes. He looked up at Angela, who was kneeling next to him, her face wracked with concern. He slowly sat up, placing one taloned hand against his forehead.  
"Jalapeno, what was that?" Goliath groaned as he slowly rose to his feet.  
"I don't know…" Angela whispered. They both moved over to Broadway, who was also lying on the ground, blacked out. After some shaking and prodding, he too awoke. The three gargoyles surveyed their surroundings.  
"How did we get up here?" Broadway asked as he flicked his head around, searching for something he wasn't sure of. "Last thing I remember was…"  
"Being in an alley…" Goliath finished absently."Father…" Angela whispered, placing a hand on Goliath's shoulder. The elder gargoyle turned and found himself gazing up, and up, and up even further at a massive orange dome, made of a material he could not discern. It rose high above the tops of the buildings, surrounding a huge area. The three gargoyle's all felt their jaws drop as they looked around, and saw even more of these man-mad environments dotting the landscape.  
"I don't think we're in New York anymore…" Goliath whispered through his awe.  
"But then…where are we?" Broadway asked. The answer came not in words, but in piercing screaming sound, followed shortly by an explosion that tore into the street alongside the building they stood on. The shockwaves threw the three warriors to the ground. All three of them looked in the direction the attack had come from, and where met by yet another incredible sight.

"Action!" Roger barked as his hands wrapped around the controls. Elisa stood alongside the pilot's seat, gripping at the back of the seat as she struggled not to fall to her knees in pure shock and awe. She found herself completely speechless as she watched the city become smaller as they rose above it. She felt the hum of the machinery all around her, the sounds of the metal giant rising to its feet. Roger was completely calm, years of experience having made it all routine for him.  
"All right…" Elisa found her voice, "NOW I'm impressed!"  
"If you think Big O is something, wait till you see what comes next." Roger smirked ass he pressed his feet onto the pedals on the floor, commanding Big O forward. The incredible machine moved with Roger, worked with him as one entity. Elisa watched each movement, utterly fascinated and incredulous. But soon enough, the object of this action came into sight.  
"What…what on earth is that?" Elisa gasped when the megadeus cropped up in their line of sight.  
"Probably another tool of The Union." Roger snorted. "Just a pawn in the hand of those Paradigm's Chief Executive Officer betrayed." Elisa did not understand what he meant, but she watched as Roger carefully manipulated the controls of Big O. The other megadeus turned, saw them, and charged forward. Elisa found herself cringing, terrified of what would happen when the steel titans collided.  
The foreign megadeus slammed into Big O, full force, and the two robots grappled roughly. The asphalt of the streets peeled under their monstrous feet as they both struggled for footing. Their enormous metal hands both squeezed with the force of a thousand vices, trying to overpower each other. The force of the attack threw Elisa down onto the floor, and she struggled to climb to her feet as Big O fought with its enemy.  
"You might want to hang on tight, Miss Maza," Roger instructed, "It's only going to get rougher!" Roger pressed down onto a button on top of one of the controls, and Big O's belly-plates slid back to reveal a series of rocket launchers. They delivered their payload into the foreign megadeus, throwing it back. Big O charged forward, but was leveled by a shattering uppercut from its enemy. Roger and Elisa both grunted with the impact, as if feeling it for Big O. The massive hands of Roger's mechanical partner slapped onto the shoulder's of the foreign megadeus and threw it aside, smashing it into a building, sending debris falling everywhere.

"Would everyone please step back!" Dastun shouted, holding his hands up and moving them back and forth, as if by some magical force it would cause the crowd to move for him. "This is a dangerous area!" Dastun groaned and slapped a hand against his forehead as the mob continued to mill about, all wanting to see some of the action. With all of this, it was becoming more annoyance than relief when the black megadeus showed up.  
A loud scream shook Dastun from his thoughts. He looked up to see the hundreds of people all running down the street, as if in a panic for their lives. He stood up straight, both thankful and confused. Then he heard the breathing behind him. He turned slowly, and found his own scream of fright matching those of the fleeing people. But rather than run, he stumbled back and fell right onto his butt.  
Goliath sighed, and shook his head. He was used to reactions like this. The strange police officer quickly pulled out his weapon and tried to level it, poorly considering how much his hands were shaking. "W-w-w-whatever you are…j-just freeze!" he stuttered, his mouth hardly matching his words as he struggled to digest what he saw before him.  
A large, green hand grabbed the pistol right out of Dastun's hand and crushed it into a small metal ball. Dastun looked up at Broadway, emitted another shout of fright and scrambled backward. "What the hell are you?" he finally managed.  
"Why do people always have to be afraid?" Broadway said sadly, ignoring the cowering police officer. Goliath offered no answer.  
"Help! My baby!" a loud scream tore into all three of them. Their attention swung down the street to see a woman running toward them, and then up the street to the battle zone, where they indeed saw a young child staring up at the metal giants, frozen in fear. One of them threw the other into a building, causing an explosion of debris to fly, a large chunk of what was previously wall hurling down toward the child.  
"No!" Goliath shouted and started to move, but knew already he'd never make it in time. He closed his eyes and tried to force himself to move faster…  
"Don't worry father!" Angela shouted as she landed next to the boy, picking him up gently and quickly dashing toward her companions. Goliath opened his eyes, and saw the black metal giant, its hand hovering above them. Once Angela and her human cargo where clear, it dropped the debris it had caught. Angela handed the woman her child.  
"T-thank…" but she could not finish, and turned and fled in fear, both of the battle ensuing, and of her strange saviors. Angela came back alongside Goliath and Broadway.  
"It would seem that even this city has its own protector." Goliath said as they looked up at the steel titans. The black one was grappling again with its enemy. "Shall we help it then?" Broadway and Angela both smirked, and with that all three began scaling a nearby brick wall, searching for a good height to gain some wind. Dastun stood up as he watched them go.  
"How much more can this city take?" he said to himself, shaking his head in disbelief.

"First Elisa, now Goliath." Xanatos sighed with frustration. Brooklyn, Lexington, Hudson, and Bronx did not take it as casually as he did. "You're sure it was the same energy, Owen?" He asked once again.  
"Yes, Mr. Xanatos. I'm quite positive I detected the same energy that took Detective Maza from us. It would seem that whatever doorway is snatching up citizens of our world can be opened more than once."  
"And if it opens again?" Hudson grumbled, crossing his arms.  
"If it opens again, we'll deal with it when it happens." Brooklyn broke in. "But until then, we have to do what Goliath said before he vanished; this city won't protect itself."  
"How can you be so cold?" Fox demanded, shaking a finger at him. "You're best friends have just been taken off the face of the earth!"  
"The lad is right." Hudson said, placing a hand on Brooklyn's shoulder. "Until we know what it is that's happening, we can't leap before we look"  
"But how will we get Goliath and Elisa back?" Lexington asked.  
"If the door opened twice already, it will probably open again." Owen said.  
"I'll set up monitoring stations, all over the city" Xanatos suggested, "We'll keep a watch out to see if those energy patterns flair up again. When they do, we'll be ready."

"What the hell was that?" Roger shouted, for a moment losing control of Big O, causing the megadeus to falter, leaving it completely vulnerable for its enemies attack. The foreign megadeus clobbered Big O with a massive punch, sending it reeling.  
"What was it?" Elisa said as she pulled herself up alongside the pilot's seat.  
"I don't know." Roger said as he wrestled with the controls, forcing Big O back into the fight. It tackled its enemy, forcing it back. Elisa kept her gaze locked on the monitor, waiting to see if whatever alarmed Roger would appear again.  
"There it is again!" Roger said, leaning forward in his seat, gesturing with his head at the shape that darted out of the corner of the monitor. Elisa's eyes narrowed with focus, then widened with recognition.  
"Goliath!" she said, shouting with half surprise, half happiness.  
"What?" Roger said, turning his head to face her, but was quickly rattled by another massive blow from his opponent.  
"There!" Elisa said, pointing at the screen. Roger looked, and felt all the rules of reality leave him at once. There, right in his own sight, was a strange looking winged creature. It glided between the two megadeus', landing on Big O's enemy. It dug its talons into the metal skin, and tore a large chunk away, causing the titan to smack at its own body like a man swatting at insects, but by then it had already leapt back into the air and safety.  
"What is that?" Roger said, his mind groping for an answer.  
"And Angela and Broadway!" Elisa said, her elation growing. And indeed, two more of the creatures landed on the megadeus and repeated the others action, leaping away just before the massive hand reached them. All three of them then glided about in the air, dodging as the megadeus swatted at them, as if they were bees attacking an intruder. Roger snapped back to reality, and quickly took his advantage.  
With a shout of determination, Roger grabbed the controls. Big O followed his direction, drawing its massive arm back, the enormous piston in it's forearm slamming back, and then ramming forward, releasing an unspeakable blast of kinetic energy, ripping a hole the size of a baseball field into its enemies gut.

"What was that?" Angela shouted above the roar of flames and the whine or police sirens.  
"I don't know, but it sure was…big!" Broadway shouted back, his mind failing to conjure a better description.  
"It's been defeated, that's what matters." Goliath called to them. "Now, if we can find out this one's intentions." As if it had heard him, the other robot gave a shudder and then slowly began to sink down into another hole in the streets, vanishing down into the darkness below. The three gargoyles watched it go, unsure of what came next.  
They were answered by the sound of shots and the wiz of bullets. Angela gave a scream as a bullet winged her arm. Broadway glided over to stop her from falling. All three gazed down at the streets, where the police officers were now focusing they're shots up at them.  
"Even here we must be feared." Goliath sighed. He hurried off in another direction, his daughter and her lover following closely.  
"Where are we going?" Broadway asked.  
"I'm not sure." Goliath replied. "But we have to find shelter before sunrise."  
"Goliath! Hey, big guy, over here!" A pleasantly familiar voice shouted from not far away. Goliath's grim mood instantly brightened and his head swung around to see none other than his lost Elisa, now found. She stood on the roof of a building several blocks away, waving at them.  
"Elisa!" Goliath shouted. He swept toward her like a shot, a streak of purple daring through the sky. Angela and Broadway both hurried to catch up, but still landed a good beat behind him. He rushed across the roof and swept Elisa up in his arms in a crushing embrace.  
"Whoa, easy Big Guy." Elisa laughed as she returned the hug. Goliath set her down and gazed into her eyes, savoring each familiar inch of her.  
"Elisa" he purred as he held her against his chest. "I was starting to fear we would never see you again." Elisa just smiled in response and placed a hand on his cheek. The warm reunion was interrupted when Roger burst through from a stairwell leading to the roof.  
"Elisa" he scolded, "What's the big idea running o-oh…" he said when his eyes fell on the purple giant holding the delicate young woman in his arms. Roger fell silent for a moment before he charged forward and grabbed Elisa's wrist. "Elisa, run!" He shouted.  
"Roger, no, its not…" she tried to explain, but too late. Broadway leapt from the roof above the stairwell, landed flat in front of them, and clutched Roger's collar with a clawed hand. He yanked the Negotiator up off the ground with a snarl. He contemplated what to do with this man when Elisa gave him a light kick above his tail. "Broadway!"  
she scolded, "Don't you dare hurt Roger! He's the only one who's been trying to help me."  
Broadway looked at Elisa, confusedly, and let Roger go. He scrambled back against a wall, his eyes darting over Elisa's strange companions.  
"Elisa…" he stuttered, struggling for words to express his shock, "What the hell are those things?"  
"Um, Roger…" she said, running a hand through her dark hair "These are Goliath and Broadway. They're my friends."  
"You're friends?" Roger said, exasperated.  
"Is this a friend too, Elisa?" Angela said, stepping forward. Roger stiffened back up against the wall at the sight of the third Gargoyle.  
"Roger, take it easy!" Elisa said, holding up her hands. Goliath, Angela, and Broadway all hung back as she approached the near panicked man, watching with a mix of disappointment and amusement at this reaction they had become so accustomed to. "They're not going to hurt you." Roger gawked at her, and she sighed, deciding to start from the top. "Roger, this is Goliath…" she said, stepping aside to give the Negotiator a full view of her companion. Goliath stepped forward and held a hand out to Roger.  
"Whoever you are" he said as softy as he could, not wanting his naturally growly voice to further frighten the poor man, "If you are a friend of Elisa, then you are a friend to us as well." Roger looked at the purple hand, more than twice the size of his own, and stepped forward cautiously. He slowly extended his own trembling hand and finally clutched Goliath's. They shook, and Roger eased up considerably. He looked over at Elisa and smirked.  
"When you told me you had unique friends, I didn't know you meant this unique."  
"Coming from someone who lives with an android, that's kind of like the kettle calling the pot black." Elisa smiled back.  
"Its nice to meet you, mister…" Angela said as she too offered out her hand.  
"Smith, Roger Smith." Roger replied as he accepted her hand, but instead of shaking he bowed his head down low, as if to kiss her hand. Angela giggled lightly, and Elisa rolled her eyes, shaking her head.  
"Hi Roger, put her there." Broadway said, stepping forward and offering his hand, clapping Roger on the shoulder, nearly sending him flat on his face. When he recovered, he joined in the chorus of chuckles from Elisa, Goliath, and Angela. The jovial mood was interrupted however, by the tolling of a distant clocktower. The three gargoyles all snapped to attention. Elisa also reacted, and turned to Roger.  
"Roger, quick, what time is it?" She asked hurriedly. Roger jumped at her urgency, and then glanced at his watch, the same device that had earlier summoned Big O.  
"Its about six o' clock. Why?"  
"We must go." Goliath said, turning for the ledge.  
"Huh?" Roger said, confused by the sudden change of mood.  
"Roger" Elisa said, grabbing his arm, "they need someplace to stay before the sun rises. We need to take them back to you're place."  
"What happens at sunrise?" Roger asked, arching an eyebrow.  
"I'll tell you when we get there." Elisa said, tugging at his arm as she lead him toward the stairwell. The three Gargoyles followed Roger's car as he rode toward home. As they drove, Roger reached down and once again activated the small screen on the dashboard of his car.  
"Something I can do for you, master Roger?" Norman asked when the kindly old butler's face appeared.  
"Norman, could you cancel all my appointments for tomorrow? And lock all the doors, I don't want any unexpected company."  
"Consider it done, sir." Norman said. But before he could turn to do as instructed, Roger broke in with another request.  
"And Norman…" he glanced up for a moment, and then smirked, "Better go grocery shopping. We're going to be having some guests."


End file.
